16 new Covid-19 cases: 15 imported, 1 in a dormitory
SINGAPORE — Singapore on Tuesday (Dec 15) reported 16 new cases of Covid-19, of which 15 were imported. The remaining case was in a foreign worker dormitory.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said that 14 of the infected persons have no symptoms.
The one case in the dormitory was detected when he took a Covid-19 pre-departure test in preparation for his return to China.
The man’s previous tests from the Rostered Routine Testing conducted fortnightly had been negative.
MOH noted that the man’s serological test came back positive, which indicates a likely past infection.
“As a precautionary measure, all his close contacts at the dormitory and his workplace have been placed on quarantine,” it said.
The imported cases reported on Tuesday include three Singaporeans — a 27-year-old woman, a 19-year-old woman and a 17-year-old male youth. They had returned from India, the United Kingdom and the United States respectively.
Six others are work pass or work permit holders employed in Singapore and they came from Brazil, India and Indonesia.
Another two imported cases include a dependant’s pass holder who arrived from Spain and a student’s pass holder who arrived from India.
The remaining four imported cases are short-term visit pass holders, including:
A one-year-old boy from Indonesia
A 29-year-old man from India
A 29-year-old man from Russia who had arrived here to take part in a mixed martial arts sporting event
A 24-year-old man from Australia on an Air Travel Pass
The two men from Russia and Australia had been tested for Covid-19 upon their arrival and were isolated while waiting for their test results. They were then taken to the hospital when their results came back positive.
All 15 imported cases had been placed on stay-home notices or isolated upon their arrival in Singapore and they were tested for the coronavirus.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained low with no new cases in the past week, MOH said.
UPDATES ON REMAINING CASES
The total number of infections in Singapore now stands at 58,341.
Of these, 58,233 people have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, including 23 on Tuesday.
There are still 25 patients in hospitals and most are in stable condition or improving. No one is in intensive care.
Another 54 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.
Twenty-nine people have died from complications due to the disease.
